Carriage



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J. SPOFPORD, Jr.

' CARRIAGE.

No. 492,477. Patented Feb. 28, 1893.

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J. SPOFFORD, Jr. CARRIAGE.

N0. 492,477. Patented Feb. 28,1893.

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JASON SPOFFORD, JR, OF AMESBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARRIAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 492,477, dated February 28, 1893.

Application fil November 26, 1892- Serial No. 453,190 (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JASON SPOFFORD, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Amesbury, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Carriages, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to carriage-bodies provided with front and rear seats, the front seat being divided longitudinally with the carriage body; and it relates specifically to the class of carriage-bodies, the two halves of whose divided front seats are rigidly attached to short sections of side panels which move with the half-seats when they are moved forward to provide space for the admission of passengers and when they are returned to their original position; and my invention consists in the carriage-body constructed as hereinafter described,whereby the front half seats are with the said sections of the side panels moved forward on a curved line, so that the front edges of,said half seats dip downward, with the effect of moving their rear upper portions forward, thus providing a very broad passage or entrance for the admission of passengers to the rear seat, the greatest breadth being where it is most needed,viz., above the feet where the body takes up more space, especially when in the somewhat bent position assumed in climbing into a carriage.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a carriage-body embodying my invention, one of the front half seats being represented as moved or car- Fig. 3. is a longitudinal vertical section taken on line as, Fig. 5. Fig. 4: is a similar section taken on line y, Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the carriage-body, the floor being shown in section on line 2, Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail, in perspective showing the grooved upper portion, removed, of the central partition and portions of the seats sliding thereon.

a represents the floor of the carriage-body, a the wheelhouse, b the rear seat made preferably, but not necessarily, stationary, cl the stationary side panels next the rear seat, 6 the rails and g the dash-board, all constructed substantially as usual.

A A are the two halves of the front seat produced by dividing said seat centrally longitudinally with the carriage-body and 1B 13 are the panels rigidly secured to said halfseats and movable with relation to the carriage body, neither the said half seats, nor panel attached thereto being claimed broadly as new in this invention.

0' is a central support or partition built on and over the wheelhouse a and situated centrally between the two front seats A A and longitudinally with the carriage-body. This partition is surmounted by a double track D which may be integral or not with the partition. This trackD is inclined upward toward its front end, is preferably but not necessarily slightly curved or crowning as shown, and is provided on its opposite sides with correspondingly inclined grooves D and on its upper surface with parallel ribs D, all as shown in Fig. 6. The half seats A A are provided on their under sides at their front edges near the inner corners with grooved slides or blocks E which, when the seats are in their normal positions straddle and rest on the ribs or tracks D, as shown in said figure. At their rear edges near the inner corners the front seatsare provided on their under sides with brackets or plates F having downward projecting ears F supporting pivots f by means of which the half-seats are pivotally connected at their rear edges with the slides H grooved as shown so as to straddle the ribs or tracks D and with projections or rollers H extending into the grooves D. Integral ribs H extend up and receive the pivotsfas shown. Suitable stops, as h in the front ends of the grooves D limit the forward movement of the slides H.

The seats are pivotally connected on their under sides near their front edges with the upper ends of carrying irons 1, whose lower ends are pivotally secured to the floor a in front of the wheel-house, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. firmness of action and support, these carrying irons are spread as shown and are pivoted each at two points to the half-seat and at two points to the floor.

Rigidly secured to the inner side of each panel B B-which it will be remembered are rigidly secured to the half seats-is a slotted track or guide K preferably curved, as shown In order to insure steadiness and IOC ' F swung forward, the slides H moved forward on the ribs D until the pins I are checked in Fig. 4, and gradually ascending as it extends forward. Extending into the slot in each said track K is a pin or roller L extending outward horizontally from a bracket N extending vertically from the wheel house or any suitable part of the body, as shown Figs. 4 and 5. When the front seats are in their normal position, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the pins L lie in the slotted guides K at their front ends, as shown in Fig. 4, the slides E rest on the ribs or tracks D at theirfront ends and the slides H rest on them at their rear ends, as shown in Fig. 6. is to enter the carriage to sit on the rear seat I) the front half seat on that side is quickly moved. from the position shown in Figs. 3, 4,5 and 6, and as indicated by the right hand seat in Figs. 1 and 2, into the positions indicated by the left hand seats in. Figs. 1 and 2. To do this the grooved bars or guides K are moved forward. over the pins L until said pins are at the rear ends of the grooves, the carrying irons by the stops n, while the slides Eare, of course, moved entirely off the ribs D The rear end of the seat is then supportedv by the front. end of the track D and the pins L, while the front end is sustained by the carrying irons I and pins I \Vhile the half-seat is being moved forward it does not move in a straight horizontal line but in a curved line, While at the same time it does not reverse. It is the office of the pivot f to allow the seat to oscillate or rock so as to afford free passage on the track as it moves from a horizontal position into the position shown in the left half-seat in Fig. 1. It will be seen that the seat when in a forward position dips decidedly in front and tilts forward at the rear, thus making the passageway bet-ween the upper portion of its rear and the back seat very broad. This is a great advantage as the place where the feet of the entering passenger are need not be so very wide, but at a short distance above, where the of the front movable half-seats A having atbody or trunk enters, usually in a somewhat bent position, greater space is needed. This cured at their ends to said seats and the carriage-body, and tracks or guides for said halfseats, whereby they when moved forward to afford access to the rear seat, move in a curved line and dip their forward edges downward Now if a passenger tilting their rear upper edges forward thus providing greater space at that elevation for passage, substantially as set forth.

2. In a two-seated carriage, the combination with a front movable seat having attached to it a movable section of a side panel, of an inclined track with its forward end the highest, said front seat being adapted to slide forward on said track until its front edge extends beyond it and dips or drops below the level of the forward end of the track, substantially as described.

3, In a two-seated carriage, the combination with a front movable half-seat, as A, having attached to it a movable section of a side panel, of the support or partition 0 surmounted by an inclined track, as D, situated under the l inner edge of the seat, and aninclined slotted guide, as K, supported by the carriage-body situated at the outer edge of the seat, said track and slotted. guide having their forward ends the higher, substantially as set forth.

4. In atwo-seated carriage, the combination of the front movable half-seats A having attached to them movable sections of the side panels, the central longitudinally supported inclined double track D provided with the ribs or tracks D" on the upper surface and the grooves D on its sides, and the slidesI-I straddling the said ribsD and provided with horizontal projections I extending into the said grooves, said slides being pivotally connected with said seats, substantially as described.

5. In a two-seated carriage, the combination of the front movable half-seats A having attached to them movable sections of the side panels, the grooved slides E secured to the under sides of saidseats near their forward edges, the plates F secured to the under sides of said seats near their rear edges and provided with the ears F and pivots f, the slides H H H pivotall-y secured to said ears, and the inclined doublev track D D D, substantially as set forth.

6. In a two-seated carriage, the combination tached to them movable sections of the side panels, the grooved slides E secured to the n11- der sides of said seats near their forward edges, 1 the plates F secured to the under sides of said seats near their rear edges and provided with the ears F and pivots f, the slides. H H H" pivotally secured to said ears, the inclined double track D D D, the inclined slotted guides K secured to the inner sides of the -movable panels B, and the engaging pins L extending into the slots from the carriage body, substantially as described.

JASON SPOFFORD, JR.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. WILLIAMS, J M. HARTNETT. 

